Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
The Solution
The reasonable solution would be for the Board to amend the bylaw immediately (which it is empowered to do) by inserting the words Kennedy Gallery Members into the article in the bylaw which currently denes membership as:
3.05 Any person or persons who donate nancially, on a yearly basis, as Good Friends, Best Friends or one of the Galaxy Circle patrons. The bylaw also addresses member rights: 20.02 Each member in good standing shall be entitled to one vote on each question arising at any special or general meeting of the members
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Even though the Boards Executive Committee has conceded that there is no dispute, and Kennedy Gallery Members would not deliberately have deprived themselves of membership, it has nevertheless declined our urgent requests to pass the amendment now, promising instead only to refer the matter to the proposed special Gallery Development Committee. In accordance with the Rules, the matter would rst have to be referred to the standing Membership Committee (which representatives of KGF would be willing to join) which would then make its recommendations to the Board. We believe membership is a fundamental issue which needs no further deliberation. Under the current organizational structure, Kennedy Gallery Members should be entitled to an equal voice in the governance of the Capitol Centres affairs.
What do we do?
We take a giant Leap of Good Faith. We are asking KGF supporters, whether or not they are now Kennedy Gallery Members, to become Good Friends of the Capitol Centre as described in the above bylaw. In doing so, it accomplishes three important things:
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1. confers membership in the North Bay Theatre and Arts Community Centre (Capitol Centre) under the existing bylaw 2. gives members a voice and a vote in the governance of the Capitol Centre's affairs including the WKP Kennedy Gallery 3. provides ongoing and essential nancial support to the Capitol Centre generally (although dues are not earmarked for the gallery) Understandably, in light of recent events (especially the elimination of the director/curator position), for many of us this may be a difcult thing to do. Nevertheless, we have considered our options very carefully, and believe it to be our best approach. We want to clearly demonstrate and foster goodwill toward the Capitol Centre as a whole while continuing to show our support and the strength of our commitment to the gallery as well as our solidarity as an independent group of WKP Kennedy Gallery supporters.
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We purposely left open the possibility of serving on such a committee. Unanswered emails sent to the Executive Committee since our rst newsletter should have dispelled any doubt.
Why we havent been able to join the Special Committee (so far)
In a nutshell: Because the Board has not yet accepted the fact that operating as a department of the Capitol Centre is at the root of the gallerys problems, or that the proposed special committee needs rst to consider the form of self-governance (which does not require severance of formal ties to the Capitol Centre). There are also important technical issues: 1. The special committee's proposed mandate (as determined by the Executive Committee) clearly breaches the Rules; it falls within the assigned function of the standing Gallery Advisory Committee established in the bylaws; KGF has suggested that the special committee's mandate be amended to: investigate the feasibility of the WKP Kennedy Gallery attaining the objective of autonomy (or along similar lines). 2. The special committee should be established by the Board as a committee of the general membership and report to the membership, not to the Board, at the next Annual General Meeting which would decide the organizational question of gallery governance. In addition, committee members should have strong personal or professional ties with the gallery and be representative of all stakeholders.
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If the $20,000 from the municipal grant had been added to the gallerys operating budget as revenue, as it should be, it would have consistently reported a balanced budget (which is an OAC requirement) or even a surplus over the same 10-year period. Put another way, comparing apples to apples: if the Capitol Centre removed the Citys annual operating grant as revenue from its overall budget, it would have reported a decit of about $311, 579 in 2012 alone. This, too, is misleading, but illustrates our point that the gallery is in need of a line item in its own budget for the inclusion of municipal revenue over and above that from the OAC.
How much should the gallery's fair share of the Citys grant be?
In the current impasse, until the dead-lock is broken, the answer is irrelevant. If we accept the Boards average decit argument, and the associated reduction in gallery expenses as a result of the elimination of the director/curator position, the reasonable inference is that the Boards expectation is that the gallery will pay its own way. There would be no municipal funding. At the same time, the chairman of the Capitol Centre Board of Directors says We remain committed to the gallerys successful operation. Unfortunately, we are not acquainted with what would appear to be a new model of public art gallery. We do not accept this. Realistically, we believe it is a question of devising a budgetary formula that would establish a consistent level of ongoing municipal support enabling the gallery to operate in accordance with the best practices of other Ontario public art galleries. The potential synergy of a self-governing WKP Kennedy Gallery working within the Capitol Centre, under the umbrella of the North Bay Theatre and Arts Community Centre organization, is enormous.
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Capitol Centre Box Ofce/Membership 150 Main Street East North Bay, ON P1B 1A8 Tel. (705) 474.1944 If you will be mailing the application, please do so immediately.
Thank you. Bill Kennedy Jane Limina Dermot Wilson KGF Steering Committee facebook.com/kennedygalleryfriends
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